MICHAEL'S PERSONAL SHARING Trish Thompson, Danna Zalenka, Linh Phan Khanh and I are already deep into planning Loving Work Foundation Retreats in Viet Nam for 2019, our 7th consecutive year. The feedback we continue to receive reflects that our 2018 Loving Work Retreat and Homeland of Our Teacher Retreat were engaging and inspiring for participants in all the ways we intend. As we do each year, our LWF leadership team has stopped to breathe, step back, evaluate and assess how

Generally speaking, I am not concerned that I am gluten/ dairy free. Even with international travel, I can find a plethora of veggies, rice and nuts to satisfy my hunger. In my experiences, when going on retreats, registration forms typically ask about diet restrictions. So, when I informed the Homeland Retreat of my dietary needs, I was surprised to be told that there is no word in Vietnamese for gluten, and I would have to be responsible to discuss my dietary needs with

A LETTER OF ASPIRATION AND AN INVITATION TO PRACTICE GENEROSITY Dear Friends and Family, I have been blessed to receive a scholarship from the Loving Work Foundation to attend the 2018 retreat in Viet Nam to build community and be of service. We will travel throughout Viet Nam, planting trees, visiting orphanages and mindfulness centers, attending the dedication of a new vegetable garden, and building community while doing service work. Also, we will be attending the 50th ann